How to start your own fashion blog

So, you’ve decided you want to start a fashion blog. That’s brilliant! You’ll probably have outfit posts planned, the latest trends ready to be written about and perhaps you’ve even got a new camera on order. First things first, you’ll need to set up your own blog.

Hosted or self hosted?

A hosted blog is one that’s hosted elsewhere. You can do this with Tumblr, WordPress.com or Blogger. Generally, there are fewer options of customization but the upside is that they are free! You’ll get a URL that ends with .wordpress.com (or similar depending on which platform you choose) but later on you could always buy your own domain.

If you go down the self hosted route, you’ll have a lot more control over your blog. You have to buy hosting then install something like WordPress.org to it. Take a look at WordPress’ documentation for all the technical details.

The self hosted route does cost a bit of money. Perhaps about $40 a year.

Layout

The Codium Extend theme

A pretty blog is important. Not only will it draw readers in but it’ll also make your blog easier to navigate. The basic layouts that come with the hosted platforms are very basic but you can find new ones. Simply do a Google search for something like ‘Tumblr layouts’ to find all sorts to choose from. There are usually installation instructions with each of these but it’s as simple as copying and pasting some code into a specific place in the blog settings.

It’s the same for self hosted WordPress blogs. Search for ‘WordPress themes’ and you’ll find thousands. They’re easy to install but some can be more difficult to set up than others. Perhaps go with something simple to begin with.

Content

What you post is up to you and great content is the way to build followers. You’ll need to be consistent. Post regularly.

Social media

In order to get your blog posts out there, you’ll need to use social media. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin’ are all good places to start but you should also look Triberr, Instagram and Reddit too.

It’s important to include links to your social profiles on your blog. This way people can follow you and keep up with your posts. Take time to post to social media regularly and interact with your followers.

Finally, don’t stress too much about followers and hits. Yes, some blogs sky-rocketed to fame overnight but that’s a very rare thing. Create good content and your following will build.